Oscal - What does the research say?

Oscal has lots of ads. It is one of the most publicized calcium supplements on the market.
But what is important to any anyone with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis is
knowing how effective this ( or any other) calcium supplement is. How
well is it absorbed? How well is it used for increasing bone density?

There have been some scientific studies comparing Oscal to other calcium supplements.

1, The
first study was by RN Johnson of the Department of Clinical
Biochemistry, Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand, was published
in 1991 in the Eur Journal. Clinical. Nutrition .

The study included 12 healthy female volunteers and
supplements providing 1 g of elemental calcium were given in random
order at weekly intervals. “Using increments in urinary calcium
excretion as an index of absorption, Calcium-Sandoz was absorbed best
andOscal the least.”

In addition, the researcher said that because of the
significant sodium content in Calcium-Sandoz, this might not be the best
supplement for those on a sodium limited diet.

2.A second scientific study was published in the Australian New Zealand. Journal Med in April 1986.

The study said: “ There were no significant differences between the four preparations in the changes in parathyroid hormone
(PTH) and urine hydroxyproline levels. But the researchers found that Spar-Cal and Calcium Sandoz had more calcium
absorbed than Oscal but that the latter had better calcium absorption
than Ossopan.

For this reason, the four
results from each subject were averaged. Following the calcium load
there was a reduction in mean PTH from 0.16 +/- 0.01 to 0.10 +/- 0.02
micrograms/l (p less than 0.001) and a decline in urine
hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio from 20 +/- 1 to 17 +/- 1 (p less than
0.02), suggesting that bone resorption responds immediately to dietary
calcium intake.

There was a rise in urine sodium excretion which
correlated with the indices of calcium absorption (r = 0.63, p less than
0.01) but not with the sodium content of the calcium preparations. This
effect could be important, particularly in elderly patients on
borderline sodium intakes.”

So what does all this mean? If you are concerned about calcium absorption, this may not be your best choice for a bone building supplement.

3.The supplement was also compared with Advacal in a number of studies and this comparison is even more telling. It was tested against Advacal in
multiple studies. Among those published studies, AdvaCAL participants
typically reported statistically significant bone benefits; the others did did not.

It comes in many forms and packages

I have never seen a bone building supplement come in so many forms. It comes in tablets and caplets., chewable and not chewable.....with no added flavor or with lemon chiffon flavor...with 400 IU of Vitamin D or 600 IU of Vitamin D or with no Vitamin D at all. Take a look at Amazon for yourself to see its many forms.

Is Oscal the best bone building supplement your money can buy?

To be honest I am not impressed with the research on this supplement. Especially when I consider that Professor Fujita has done numerous scientific studies of the calcium found in the supplement sold by Lane Labs called Advacal.

Advacal comes in many forms: Regular Advacal, Advacal Ultra, a special formula for men. And what is reassuring is that this form of bone building calcium has numerous scientific studies showing its effectiveness.